Les Étangs de Villepey

Les Étangs de Villepey, RN98
Saint Aygulf
The Western Cote d Azur
33 04 94 51 88 00

http://www.conservatoire-du-littoral.fr

Type: Sightseeing

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It is hard to believe, but the system of lakes and lagoons on the edge of Fréjus, reminiscent of the Camargue, is the positive result of interaction between man and nature. Initially formed as the delta of the Argens River, which separates the Massif des Maures from the Estérel, years of industrial sand dredging have produced an extensive wetland area stretching over 640 acres. The French Coastal Conservation Agency Conservatoire du Littoral acquired the area with 24 separate purchases over a period of 15 years in the 1980s and 90s. Today, les Étangs de Villepey is the only major wetlands area between the Camargue and the Italian border. The continuous tidal exchange of fresh and salt water fosters a diversity of plant and animal life. More than 250 species of birds have been spotted, including large migrating flocks of flamingos, once only seen in the Camargue, grey herons, ducks, grebes, a huge variety gulls, wading birds and birds of prey. The reserve also harbors tortoises, coypus a beaver-like rodent and other small mammals. It encompasses a variety of micro-habitats –lakes, lagoons, sansouires salt plains on the edge of marshes in the Camargue and other littoral wetlands, dunes, prairies, salt marshes, riverbanks and pinewoods – encouraging enormous biodiversity. Plant life ranges from tough salt grasses, saladelle and salicorne, to sea lilies, maritime asters and rare serapia orchids. As a true estuarine habitat, fish in the étangs are as likely to be freshwater fish from the Argens as they are to be saltwater species. An interpretation trail, an observation platform and footpaths, linked to the Massif des Maures and the Coastal Path, give visitors limited access to view the reserve.